KTVU uses copyright law to save face

7/23/13 1:24 PM EDT

Local San Francisco news station KTVU is using copyright law to remove videos on YouTube showing their embarrassing moment broadcasting fake pilot names of Asiana flight 214.

But the reason isn’t copyright violations, the station's general manager told TVSpy. The station, a Fox affiliate owned by Cox, wants to erase the moment from internet history.

“The accidental mistake we made was insensitive and offensive. By now, most people have seen it. At this point, continuing to show the video is also insensitive and offensive, especially to the many in our Asian community who were offended,” KTVU General Manager Tom Raponi said. “Consistent with our apology, we are carrying through on our responsibility to minimize the thoughtless repetition of the video by others.”

Some of the videos of the anchor reading the fake names now have the message “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by KTVU.” The message is most commonly seen on YouTube videos of movies, TV shows and music. As Wired notes, it’s an unusual use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which says owners of websites where the content is user-generated are obligated to remove copyrighted material at the rights holder’s request, or face the same potential penalties as the uploader.

A now-fired intern with the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed the fake names Captain Sum Ting Wong,” Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk” and “Bang Ding Ow” to the station a few days after the crash. Asiana Airlines said they were going to sue the station, but nixed the suit after the station issued a public apology.